Jollibee’s Tan Caktiong claims no more contractualization in PHL

The illegal practice of hiring employees under a six-month contract is no longer exercised in the Philippines, according to Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC).

“Regarding the issue ... there’s no more contractual, not only in fastfood but I think in the whole Philippines ... ” JFC chairman Tony Tan Caktiong said during the company’s stockholders’ meeting in Quezon City.

“The issue now is about outsourcing. What kind of role can be outsourced or not?” Tan Caktiong said.

However, Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa secretary general Josua Mata disapproved of Tan Caktiong’s statement.

“I don’t know which alternative reality he is in,” Mata said.

On the sidelines of the stockholders’ meeting, Tan Caktiong told reporters that employees of the company are either regular with the JFC or regular in their hired service providers.

He said the company knew that employees working under a service provider were contractuals, “because everybody is doing that ... But now this President is no longer allowing it.”

Jollibee topped the list of 20 companies engaged in labor-only contracting released by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) last month.

In labor-only contracting, the contractor or subcontractor merely recruits, supplies, or places workers to perform a job for a principal.

Tan Caktiong noted that Jollibee outsourced or contracted its manpower needs because it gave them the flexibility to deploy personnel.

“We are looking to outsource because service providers are more flexible. When we hire regular employees, we cannot redeploy them as fast as providers ... but the cost is more or less the same. So the advantage really is on flexibility,” Tan Caktiong said.

“If you ... outsource, they can deploy all their manpower anywhere. Kami, if we have full-time, we cannot deploy them anymore ... They have more flexibility. If we say we need more workers for December, they can give you those workers. Then by January, if you say you just need a little bit they can redeploy. So it’s more on flexibility,” he said.

In April, the Labor department ordered JFC to regularize more than 7,000 contractual workers deployed under its contractors or service providers.

JFC is appealing the order. It said the company is committed to complying with the law and Department Order 174, which allow contracting arrangements with legitimate service providers.

“The fact is, tens of thousands of workers ordered by the DOLE to be regularized has yet to be actually regularized,” Mata said.

Tan Caktiong noted that Jollibee is now working closely with the Labor department on the issue and to clarify which roles are allowed to be contracted or outsourced.

“In compliance with regulations, we only deal with reputable service contractors that have been duly accredited and registered with DOLE,” the company said.

Mata said that unless the law is changed, employers could always challenge DOLE’s compliance orders “all the way to the Supreme Court.”

He urged the government to work on certifying as urgent the Security of Tenure bill, which is now pending before the Senate. —VDS, GMA News